The present invention relates to housings containing electronic components having connectors for communication with external devices and, more particularly to a housing which enables connectors mounted on internal components to reliably engage the connectors of external devices in the presence of assembly and manufacturing dimensional tolerance accumulation.
It is well known that in the image projection, communication, navigation, computer and like industries manufacturing electronic systems, that the electronic systems are made up of a plurality of subsystems with one or more of the subsystems being assigned to a particular printed circuit board (PC board). The PC board is normally in a housing. It is required that the PC board be received in the housing in a manner enabling the PC board to be removed from the housing for maintenance, repair and/or replacement. Mounted on the PC board are one or more electrical connectors, plugs, or receptacles that are adapted to couple with external mating connectors, plugs or receptacles for power and/or signal paths between the PC board inside the housing and external devices.
The electronics housing comprises a bezel having connector apertures. The bezel is likened to a frame that surrounds the connectors of an internal electronic device. The PC board is mounted within the housing strategic to the bezel apertures wherein the PC board connectors are positioned behind, flush with, or protruding from the apertures. An external device can therefore access a connector with a mating connector either externally if the connector protrudes through the aperture or by passing the mating connector though the aperture to mate with the connector within.
It is well known in the art that the manufacture and assembly dimensional tolerances provided by the electronic system design requires very precise matching of the housing mounting apparatus with the PC board attachment. Further, precise manufacture of the electrical connector arrangement on the PC board is required for proper alignment of the connectors with the apertures in the bezel. This precise matching of components to the housing/bezel adds to the cost of the electronic system.
For practical reasons known to those in the art of manufacture and assembly, all of the components of the electronic system have associated with them a dimensional tolerance. Even with precise manufacturing processes of the PC board and the housing together with the connector mounting arrangement, the accumulation of dimensional tolerances can lead to a misalignment of assembled components. In particular, the accumulation of tolerances can result in a misalignment between the PC mounted connectors and their corresponding bezel apertures. Connector/aperture misalignment can prevent reliable connection or preclude connection at all between the connector on the PC board and the connector of the external device. Significant disassembly and rework of the components of the electronic system to remedy this misalignment is labor intensive and not conducive to maintaining manufacturing efficiencies.
There is a need for apparatus and methods to account for the accumulation of manufacture and assembly tolerances and to accommodate those tolerances to provide proper alignment of the PC board connectors and the access apertures in the housing bezel.
An electronics housing enabled to compensate for the accumulation of dimensional tolerances to enable reliable connection between one or more connectors mounted to internal electronic components and external connectors from one or more external devices. An alignment plate is provided that adapts an aperture in the housing to the connectors. The alignment plate is adapted to account for tolerance accumulation by being positional within the housing while substantially covering the space between the connectors and the housing aperture. The alignment plate in cooperation with an EMI shield provides electromagnetic shielding about the connectors.